SENATE BILL NO. 489
INTRODUCED BY ELLIOTT, P. CLARK, COONEY, SHOCKLEY, WHEAT
AN ACT DESIGNATING U.S. INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS IN MONTANA AS THE "PURPLE HEART TRAIL"; AND AMENDING SECTION 60-2-242, MCA.
AN ACT DESIGNATING U.S. INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS IN MONTANA AS THE "PURPLE HEART TRAIL"; AND AMENDING SECTION 60-2-242, MCA.
WHEREAS, on August 7, 1782, at his Newburgh, New York, headquarters, George Washington devised a badge of distinction to be worn by enlisted men and noncommissioned officers; and
WHEREAS, the badge, named the Badge of Military Merit and patterned in the "figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding", was awarded for "any singularly meritorious action", permitted the wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge, and required the honoree's name and regiment to be inscribed in a Book of Merit; and
WHEREAS, after the Revolutionary War, no more American soldiers received the Badge of Military Merit; and
WHEREAS, the valiant efforts in 1927 by Army Chief of Staff General Charles P. Summerall to revive the Badge of Military Merit ultimately failed in Congress; and
WHEREAS, on January 7, 1931, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur pursued a new medal that the War Department formally announced on February 22, 1932; and
WHEREAS, after the award was reinstated, recipients of a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate during World War I, along with other eligible soldiers, could exchange their award for the Purple Heart; and
WHEREAS, Army regulations at the time defined the conditions of the award as "a wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer and which is received in action with an enemy, may in the judgment of the commander authorized to make the award be construed as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service"; and
WHEREAS, the award of the Purple Heart still represents the thoughts reflected in George Washington's orderly book dated August 7, 1782: "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Purple heart trail. The purple heart trail is the U.S. interstate highway system in Montana.
Section 2. Section 60-2-242, MCA, is amended to read:
"60-2-242. Markers -- commemorative highways. (1) As funds are available under subsection (2), the department may design and erect signs along the commemorative highways designated in 60-1-202 through 60-1-207 and [section 1] identifying the routes and providing interpretive information.
(2) The department may accept money from other state agencies, federal agencies, local governments, or private persons for the purposes of subsection (1) and may expend the money received for those purposes.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), private persons includes commonly recognized military veterans' organizations, including but not limited to the veterans of foreign wars, the American legion, the disabled American veterans, the Vietnam veterans of America, and the military order of the purple heart."
Section 3. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 60, chapter 1, part 2, and the provisions of Title 60, chapter 1, part 2, apply to [section 1].
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